Analysis Of ' Shakespeare 's ' Hamlet '

In the contemporary world of today, women are allowed to express their feelings, thoughts and they have unlimited amount of freedom, however during William Shakespeare’s time women were not allowed to act on stage as men were the ones who played the roles of women. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet the female characters are characterized with very little roles, however they directly or indirectly influence the actions by the men in their lives. Literary and historical scholars conclude that women were not interested political, economic, or social equality with men during this time in history. In the play the female characters are restricted in a patriarchal society as they are portrayed firstly as weak, secondly as obedient and lastly as dependent. These characters include, Gertrude who is the queen of Denmark, and Ophelia who is the love interest of Hamlet. The play revolves around the theme of revenge and how these women had a big influence in the plot of the play.

The equality of men and women has been a controversial topic throughout various eras of time. Previously observed as delicate and feeble individual’s incapable of independence, women have not always had to opportunity to voice their own opinions. This is clearly demonstrated within the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare by two prominent female characters, Queen Gertrude and the love interest of Prince Hamlet, Ophelia. Depicted as a reserved leader who favors luxury and affection over loyalty and strong morals, Gertrude often seeks guidance from the male figures around her. Similarly, Ophelia has a malleable personality built upon the opinions of her father and the endearment of Hamlet,

The English Play writer, William Shakespeare had written many well-known pieces of work including Hamlet. Hamlet is known to be one of his most popular works. Hamlet was written in the late 16th Century about the Prince of Denmark. The original title of the work was The Tragedy of Hamlet, now it is referred to as just Hamlet. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the mental state of his characters to prove that not all characters in books have to be one dimensional. Shakespeare’s writing shows that humans are complex, and can have different mental states. Characters throughout the story such as, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Ophelia show their not so stable mental state. First we will analyze Hamlet and talk about Ernest Jones’ Psycho-analytic study of Hamlet. Then we will talk about Ophelia and how the events that happened leading up to her death or suicide played a role into her mental state. Finally we will analyze Gertrude, the Queen’s role in Hamlet, and how she is a mentally weak woman and relies on the men in her life.

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In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare, the author, creates female characters that occupy very different roles than in his other plays. In this play, Hamlet plays opposite two women who are used by the men around them in order to further their own interests. One woman is named Ophelia. In many of Shakespeare’s other plays, he creates women that are very strong and play a very real role in the life of the protagonist. In Hamlet, however, Ophelia occupies a very different role-she exemplifies a pawn of the men around her. She is used not only by her father and his associate the King, but also by her supposed lover, Hamlet. This is a very different role for a woman in a Shakespearian play. Also, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude,

Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.

The speech of Hamlet “O that this too sullied flesh would melt, … But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (1.2.129-159) is where we can see Hamlet’s sadness towards his mother, Gertrude and his uncle Claudius and feels disappointed about their decision of getting married. Hamlet is seen to be too upset after his father’s death. It’s not even a month has passed and he gets to hear another news about his mother Gertrude and uncle, Claudius getting married. In the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2, King Claudius gives a speech to his courtiers, telling them about his recent marriage to Gertrude, mother of Hamlet and his brother’s widow. Claudius says that he mourns his brother but has chosen to balance Denmark’s mourning with delight of his marriage. He also mentions in his speech that young Fortinbras has written to him, rashly demanding the surrender of the lands King Hamlet won from Fortinbras’s father, and dispatches Cornelius and Voltimand with a message for the King of Norway, Fortinbras’s elderly uncle.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience”(Eleanor Roosevelt). Experience in our lives help shape us into people we are today. In the novels, Hamlet by William Shakespeare and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry the characters are presented with difficulties due to the effects of the emergency. The aftermath of being in a state of emergency results in the countries of Denmark and India experiencing corrupt government, death and violence, forcing the characters to find the purpose for their lives.

     The treatment of women in Hamlet is very troubling. The leading female characters, Queen Gertrude and Ophelia, are pawns or puppets for the men around them. Like chess pieces, they are moved about and influenced by the men they love with little say of their own; in fact, Shakespeare does not even develop their characters.

Women, the ones who can easily be marginalized have always been the problem with one’s issues. In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the figure of women as an unacceptable foe. The women are seen as less than a person of living and more as of an object, one that can be sexually used. The continuous dominance over Ophelia and Gertrude has caused their judgment to cloud. Hamlet has easily labeled the women as weak, two-faced and a foe to men due to the unpredictable actions of women. While Ophelia continues to act as a puppet of her father and brother, Gertrude gets stuck in the same position through the use of Claudius. The cause of misogyny and harsh treatment from Hamlet reveals the sensitive and meticulous side of him, through the

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there are only two outstanding female characters: Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover, and Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark, and Hamlet’s mother. Both female characters face discrimination in different ways, but they share one commonality in the way they are controlled as the play progresses; both women are treated as manipulable possessions, rather than individual humans with their own sets of needs, wants, and emotions. Ophelia only acts when commanded by a male character, be it her father, brother, or Hamlet himself, her actions none of her own. On the other hand, Gertrude is viewed by is viewed by male characters as a possession to own, and is treated as though her only redeeming quality is her sex. In short, the female characters of Hamlet face heavy objectification, and are treated as possessions

Hamlet by Shakespeare is a very wonderfully written book that contains so many literary elements and motifs throughout it that it is still one of the most debated and talked about pieces of literature ever written. It begins with a very mysterious opening that sets the pace for the rest of the book. The old king of Denmark has died and he has returned as a ghost to inform his son, who is also named Hamlet, of the terrible misfortune that has befallen him and left Denmark in a political and emotional turmoil. He has come to inform the young Hamlet that his uncle Claudius murdered the old king in order to gain access to the throne by remarrying the widowed queen a mere two months after he has passed. The timing is very important because it

Hamlet referring to his mother says, “Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2.149), alluding to the claimed inherent weakness of women 's character. In Hamlet, the roles of women are minor yet essential to the plot and flow of the play. They have no standing in the society and their voices are never heard. Gertrude and Ophelia, the prince 's lover are the only two women in the play that have been portrayed as weak, manipulative and can be used. Their actions and fates are greatly influenced by the men 's decisions and are also led by the men 's power which makes them a weak image of dependent women at Shakespeare 's time. Gender inequality is a predominant issue in Hamlet as the two leading women 's are characterized as weak, obedient, and are used as tools of manipulation by the male figures in their lives. In Hamlet, Shakespeare illustrates a sympathetic image of Gertrude and Ophelia as their downfall can be blamed on how demanding men are, how they depend on men’s love, but also how they differ in dealing with death of people they love.

Often, pieces of literature have been analyzed and made into a motion picture in the hopes of further developing the themes presented in the work. Though the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, has been interpreted and converted into a film numerous times by different directors, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation particularly captured the essence of Hamlet and helped the audience truly understand the events that transpired in Act Three Scene Two of Hamlet. It is in this act, Hamlet plan to reveal King Claudius’ treachery is played out. Hamlet exposes the king through adding an extra sixteen lines to the play which depicts him killing Hamlet’s father. With the directions Hamlet gave to the actors, Hamlet is able to make the audience recognize the king’s

In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind